Rttorneys



Aug. 11, 1959 I .YMEsTRE 2,899,202

oFFsET PRINTING MACHINE AND SHEET GAGE Original Filed Sept. 2, 1953 E521"gk-r4 INVENTQR. Lu/s l/Wz-:sT/w

i H 7 TORNEYS @ZE/MMM States Patented Aug. 11, 1959 ice opmentCorporation,-New Yorin-NX.,I al corporation of NewYork Originalapplication September- 2,""1953,` Serial"'No. 378,035, n'ow Patent""No.2,821,911gj`d'ated February 4, 1958. Divided ndithis' application May16',19'57,

Serial No. 659,595

- 8 Claims. (Cl. 271--53) The present invention relates toy offsetprinting machines and the principal object ofthe invention is-to providea gageor stop `means 'embodying novel and advantageous features ofconstruction `and-oapablerof producing novel and advantageousresultsfHPrinting -machinesV of this character comprise a platecylindcr,a

` blanket cylinder, and an impressioncylinder-and may include a deliverycylinder. The gageor stop` means is located at or adjacent to theimpression cylinder-to stop the sheet and control theposition'ofnthefleadingedge of the sheet at the cylinder.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine of the type specifiedembodyingV novel and advantageous upon consideration of the following.detailed description and of the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view throughwan impression cylinder taken on line1 1 of Fig. 2; giving an elevational view of the gage or stop means.

Fig. 2 is a partial end View ofrth'e impression cylinder and the gage orstop means.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through theA impression cylinder and thegage or stop means taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, the impression cylinderbeing in position formeans carried thereby to grip the leadingedge of asheet of paper fed thereto;

Fig. 4 is a detail end view of a cam follower for the gage adjustment astaken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the cam follower as viewed on line 5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a cross section through a rockshaft for the gage adjustmenttaken on line 6 6 of Fig. l.

The frame of the machine comprises spaced front and rear frame membersor plates 40 and 41 respectively, connected by crossipieces, (notshown). The cylinders and gage parts are mounted upon the frame members.Each sheet of paper P is picked from a pile or stack (not shown) andadvanced to the impression cylinder-66 of the offset printing machine byysuitable feeding mechanism (not shown). The impression rcylinder isrotatably mounted on a shaft 49 and driven by agear'50. A blanketcylinder 48 carriesthe ink for making an impression'on the sheet as itpasses between -theimpression cylinder and the blanket cylinder.

" The sheet P from the feedingimechanism'passeswover a lowersupportingplate'l'57-and fbeneathanvupper guide plate`58 to apositionwhere it is stopped-by engagement ofvitsl' leading edge-withsubstantially vertical `stop fingers or teeth 59 of a gage member orcomb 60 forming apart 'of thegage` or stop. Thelowerendsloflthefstop-fngers 59 are normally 'housed in slots 62 in the endedge of the plate S8 which extends beyond the edge of plate`57. In theposition illustrated :the stop lingers` project below:the lower face of-plate 58 into the .path offeaclrlshee't P. =The comb or gage membert)khas afiat top `63 adjustably mounted on the top' of a rockshaft 64 andfprovided `atiits forward edge -with'l-the ngers 59A which. project'Adownwardly at substantially vright `angles to the top. 'f The stop ugersy59-v occupy :alternate slots .62 in plate-58 leaving `the remainingslots *.62 available for thepassage offspring *grippers4 ori 'gripperfinger'sS .carried r by an :impression cylinder166having ends-66a. Asshown in Fig. 1i, the

stop fingers '59 are 'separatedfbyhigh arched openings to accommodate orpermit the sheet 'grippersor gripper iinge1s65 to passftherebetween.

"f1-Fixed tothe impression cylinder-66` is a cam` 671h'aving-anouterledge or highpor-tion-in the shapeof a. circle -on thevrocksh'afti64 Landi-moves' the stop fingersy or teeth has been clamped.by'v thev "grippers' 65 i of r impression'v cyl- 3dinder166-and...holdstheistop:raiseduntill just'prior to anothersheetapproaching stop position. I v'The follower 5269 then'-dropsv-intohthe lower part 68 of -theicam and pivotsthe-stopfingers59winto sheet stopping position, for engagement of theleading'edge of the-sheet withlthe impression cylinder i566.. Thefollower-'69 is f pressed other' endwa'ttached to afixedpin Sii-carriedby a .frame plate '(Fig. v5).

yA feature off-Itheinvention `relates tolnovel and advantageous means"for adjus'tably mounting: the gage or about the pivot formed by thescrew 71.

The actual adjustment of alignment of the comb or gage member 60 iseffected by .means of a nut 74 threaded on the rockshaft`64an'd having atapered orconical'end engaging a finger '75' projecting from theadjacentend of said comb 60 forengagement by the tapered end of the nut74." lBy screwing the` nut 74 towards `the pivot.71, the end of thestop, gage or comb 60 at the nut 74 will be moved away from therockshaft 64 in the direction `of travel of the sheets and the other endof said stop or -comb at the spring will be swung about the pivot 71towards the rockshaft andagainst resistance ofsaid spring 72. Bymovement of nut 74 in the proper direction the comb 60 may be adjustedto provide proper alignment of the gage for the leading edge of thesheets P as the sheets are fed to the impression cylinder 66.

Another feature of the invention relates to regulation of the movementof the stop or comb 60 about the axis of rockshaft 64 by adjusting theposition of arm 70 around said rockshaft, thereby regulating the forwardor rearward position of the stop 60 and of the ends of stop fingers orteeth 59. As illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, arm 70 is flat and has a hub76 at its inner end mounted on the rockshaft y64 and fixed to a collar77l rotatably mounted on the same rockshaft. At one side of hub 76 is aprojection 78 having at its lower edge an ear 79 at right angles theretoand having a screw-threaded opening therein.

Adjacent to hub 76 is a hub 80 mounted on rockshaft 64 and secured to acollar 81 which is fixed on rockshaft 64 by a screw 85. The hub 80 hasan ear 82 projecting laterally over ear 79 and having an openingtherethrough to receive a bolt of screw 83. The screw 83 is insertedthrough the opening in ear 82, through a helical spring 84, and isscrewed into the screw-threaded opening in ear 79. The helical spring 84urges ears 79 and 82 apart to the distance permitted by screw 83. Theadjustment of the arm 70 with reference to rockshaft 64 may be variedwithin suitable limits of adjustment by turning screw 83 to the requiredposition `and thereby adjusting the position of the stop fingers onteeth 59 forwardly or rearwardly of the travel of the sheet orrelatively to the impression cylinder.

The surface of the impression cylinder 66 is cylindrical except for alongitudinal channel or trough 90 having a peripherial opening toaccommodate the gripper fingers 65 and a shaft 91 on which they arepivotally mounted. The shaft 91 is mounted in the ends 66a of impressioncylinder 66. As shown on Fig. l, fingers 65 are spaced to pass throughslots 92 in a cover 93 for said channel 90. Other slots 89 in the coverreceiving the fingers 59 of stop 60 at the time the stop is lowered orpivoted to stop position. Suitable operating means 87 are provided toopen and close the gripper fingers 65 in timed relation with therotation of the impression cylinder. A suitable means is shown in theaforesaid parent patent.

This invention is presented to fill a need for improvements in OffsetPrinting Machine and Sheet Gage. It is understood that variousmodifications in structure, as well as changes in mode of operation,assembly and Vmanner of use, may and often do occur to those skilled inthe art, especially after benefitting from the teachings of aninvention. Hence it will be understood that this disclosure isillustrative of preferred means of embodying the invention in usefulform by explaining the construction, operation and advantages thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. In a machine of the class specified to make impressions on successivesheets, the combination of a frame, a cylinder mounted for rotation inthe frame and having a longitudinal opening, means at said opening togrip the leading edge of a sheet presented at said opening at apredetermined point in the rotation of said cylinder, and asingle gagingmember of a substantial length for the leading edge of each sheetmounted on the frame adjacent to the cylinder, means to move the gagingmember into and away from the path of movement of a sheet to thecylinder, comprising means for adjusting said gaging member inaccordance with the transverse direction of the leading edge of a sheet.

2. In a machine of the class specified to make impressions on successivesheets, the combination of a frame, a cylinder mounted for rotation inthe frame and having a longitudinal opening, means at said opening togrip the leading edge of a sheet presented at said opening at apredetermined point in the rotation of said cylinder, and gaging meansfor the leading edge of each sheet mounted on the frame adjacent to thecylinder, means to move the gaging means into and away from the path ofmovement of a sheet to the cylinder, comprising means for adjusting therelative position of the gaging means with respect to the cylinder.

3. In a machine of the class specified to make impressions on successivesheets, the combination of a frame, a cylinder mounted for rotation inthe frame and having a longitudinal opening, means at said opening togrip the leading edge of a sheet presented at said opening at apredetermined point in the rotation of said cylinder, and gaging meansfor the leading edge of each sheet mounted adjacent to the cylindercomprising a transverse shaft mounted on the frame, a gage member havinga top resting on said shaft Aand pivoted centrally thereon and fingersprojecting downwardly to engage the leading edge of said sheet, andmeans to rock the shaft to move the fingers into and away from the pathof movement of a sheet to the cylinder.

4. In a machine of the class specified to make impressions on successivesheets, the combination of a frame, a cylinder mounted `for rotation inthe frame and having a longitudinal opening, means at the opening togrip the leading edge of a sheet presented at said opening at apredetermined point in the rotation of said cylinder, and gaging meansfor the leading edge of each sheet mounted adjacent to the cylindercomprising a transverse shaft mounted on the frame, a gage member havinga top resting on the shaft and pivoted centrally thereon and fingersprojecting downwardly to engage the leading edge of a sheet, and meansto rock the shaft to move the fingers into and away from the path ofmovement of a sheet to the cylinder, means for urging one end of saidgage to swing it about its pivot, and positive means for swinging thegage against such urging means.

V5. In a machine of the class specified to make impressions onsuccessive sheets, the combination of a frame, a cylinder mounted forrotation in the frame and having a longitudinal opening, means at saidopening to grip the leading edge of a sheet presented at said opening ata predetermined point in the rotation of said cylinder, and gaging meansfor the leading edge of each sheet mounted adjacent to the cylindercomprising a transverse rockshaft mounted on the frame, aligned stopfingers carried by said rockshaft, and means for raising and loweringsaid stop fingers comprising an arm connected at one end to the shaft, acam on the cylinder engaged by the arm and which cam has a low and highportion to move the stop fingers into and away from the path of feed ofa sheet to the cylinder.

6. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a cylinderhaving means to grip the leading edge of a sheet supplied thereto, andmeans for gaging the forward edge of each sheet preparatory to theaction of said gripping means and mounted adjacent to the cylindercomprising a rockshaft, gaging fingers extending downwardly at theforward side of said rockshaft, a cam mounted on said cylinder, an armmounted at its inner end on said rockshaft, a follower at the other endof the arm to engage said cam, a screw and means controlled by the screwto adjust the position of the arm with reference to the rockshaft andhold such adjustment.

7. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a cylinderhaving means to grip the leading edge of a sheet supplied thereto, andmeans for gaging the forward edge of each sheet preparatory to theaction of said gripping means and mounted adjacent to the cylindercomprisinga rockshaft, gaging fingers extending downwardly at theforward side of the rockshaft, a cam mounted on the cylinder, an armmounted at its inner end on said rockshaft, a follower at the other endof the arm to engage said cam, a member fixed on the shaft adjacent saidarm, a helical compression spring interposed between the member and thearm to change their relative positions around the shaft, means forcompressing the spring comprising a rod extending through the spring andthreaded at one end, and a nut on the threaded end.

8. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a cylinderwith gripping means to grasp the leading edge of a sheet fed thereto, agaging means comprising a shaft, a stop comprising a top overlying saidshaft, a 'vertical pivot projecting from the top of the shaft throughthe central part of the top, a comb projecting from said top downwardlyat the front of the shaft and having a plurality of lingers, a helicalspring having one end in a corresponding bore in the shaft spaced fromthe vertical pivot and engaging the inner surface of one end of thecomb, and a conical nut threaded on the shaft at the other ReferencesCited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Marguardt Oct. 19,1926 Albrecht June 30, 1953 Pitner Aug. 31, 1954

